Heel cushion



Original Filed Sept. 16, 1929 .Samuel E a-Shara v gew, J) @SWU :www

Patented Nov. 24, 1936 UNITED STATES PAT N GFFICE HEEL CUSHION Samuel F.Bashara, Houston, Tex.

1 Claim.

My invention relates to foot rests for use by the driver of a motorvehicle.

The drivers of the usual types of motor vehicles experience a largeamount of vibration from the engine communicated to the frame of thecar. The driver has one foot upon the accelerator pedal while drivingand the other upon the clutch pedal. The vibration from the motor iscommunicated particularly upon the accelerator, and this has the effectof tiring the driver through the shock of the continuous vibration. Thefoot of the driver becomes numb and the nerves of the limb becomeafected.

I seek to overcome the vibration and tiresome effect of driving by theprovision of shock absorbing means in the shape of a pad of rubber orother compressible material placed upon the floor adjacent to theaccelerator or other pedal upon which the foot may bear.

I desire to form an air cushion within the pad which will practicallyeliminate the vibration upon the foot of the driver.

I also contemplate shaping the pad to iit either the heel or the soleor" the drivers shoe, or both the heel and sole at once.

I also have as an object the provision of a pad which may connect thepedal and a support adjacent thereto and which will be entirely flexiblebetween its ends to allow a maximum freedom of movement of the pedalupon which it operates.

In the drawing herewith twol embodiments of the invention are shown.Fig. l is a central vertical section of one form of the heel rest.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through a different form of heel restembodying the invention but shaped to lit the heel of the driver as wellas eX- tending over to the accelerator pedal.

In Fig. l, I have shown a block or pad 2l o rubber or similar resilientmaterial in which a recess 28 is formed on the upper side to receive theheel of the operator. An extension 24 may be formed in this recess toaccommodate the smaller heel of a womans shoe where such a shoe is wornin the driving of the car, this multiple recess accommodating b-othtypes of heels without materially altering the position of the operatorsfoot. The lower side of the pad is formed of a flat plate of rubber 36and the interior of the pad is formed with an air space El to increasethe resiliency of the pad. This air space 3l will be seen to extendbehind as Well as beneath the heel socket thus giving a greater freedomof movement and better cushioning qualities. It is to be understood, ofcourse, that various modifications may be made 10 in the shape of thisheel rest. The plate 30 need not extend across the bottom of the padunless desired and while I have shown a marginal flange 32 to make thedevice more stable any provision may be made for this purpose withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention. The base may or may not belarger in diameter than the upper end, as shown.

In Fig. 2, a foot rest 33 is of somewhat the same shape as that shown inFig. l. In this form ho-wever, I have omitted the bottom plate 3D. Alsoin this form the pad is extended upwardly at 34 in front of the heel ofthe operator to morefirmly support the same. I have also indicated howthe pad i may be secured to the foot rest by means of a strip 35 ofrubber or similar material. The use of the air cushion as a feature ofthe heel rest is important in that the shock and vibration of thevehicle is most effectively absorbed thereby.

This application is a division of my copending application Serial No.393,061, led Septembrql, 1929, for a foot rest for automobiles.

What is claimed is:

A foot rest of the character described including a body of rubbermaterial including a base, side walls upstanding from said base, a footreceiving Cover connecting said side walls and spaced fro-m said basewhereby an air chamber is provided inside of said body, said cover beingformed with a depression to receive a shoe having a low at heel, and asecond depression within said first depression to receive a shoe havinga high narrow heel.

SAMUEL F. BASHARA. 45

